Yankees prevail in record epic

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published August 20, 2006

BOSTON - The Yankees had to work extra long to extend their AL East lead.

New York beat the Red Sox 14-11 to complete a sweep of Friday's day-night doubleheader. At 4 hours, 45 minutes, the nightcap was the longest nine-inning game in history, and it came on top of a relatively speedy 3:55 afternoon contest.

"We kept looking up and it kept being the fourth inning. It was nuts," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "I'm proud of it, especially in this ballpark, where every game seems like it's the longest game in history."

"I don't even remember half of it," said Derek Jeter, who hit a bases-clearing double in a seven-run seventh to give New York an 11-10 lead.

"It feels great," Jeter said sarcastically, "especially when we have another one in a few hours."

Johnny Damon had six of New York's 34 hits on the day, including two two-run homers. Bobby Abreu had four hits to lead the Yankees to a 12-4 victory in the early game, then added two in the sequel as the Yankees guaranteed they will leave town after the five-game series with the division lead.

"It was a long, frustrating day," said Red Sox second baseman Mark Loretta, who had three doubles in the first game and went 3-for-6 with four RBIs in the second. "We have our work cut out for us in this series."

The night game surpassed the 4:27 it took the Dodgers and Giants to play on Oct. 5, 2001.